


Downgoing Men

by zynnser



Series: Approved Tolerance [3]
Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, thief!Hide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-05
Updated: 2015-08-05
Packaged: 2018-04-13 04:47:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4508349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zynnser/pseuds/zynnser
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hide was pretty sure that this was not the order in which things were supposed to happen on a first date. But Kaneki had smiled more in the last two hours than in the entire time he had known him, so Hide couldn’t really bring himself to care.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Downgoing Men

**Author's Note:**

> This is the conclusion to the Approved Tolerance series. Thank you to everyone who's been reading/following this since I started posting and everyone who stuck around long enough for this installment to finally make its way out of my drafts. 
> 
> This fic picks up immediately after In His Own Way ends, so you may want to reread the last scene of that fic to get a refresher on what's going on. If you're a first time reader, I'm afraid this fic won't make a whole lot of sense if you haven't read In His Own Way first, since it establishes the relationship and works out the kinks in the AU characterization. Also, if you're here for the date and not the porn, skip about halfway down and just read the second half. 
> 
> I'd also like to thank [Kari](http://archiveofourown.org/users/neesha89/pseuds/Kari/), who beta'ed this for me. Any mistakes you see where reinserted into the fic without her permission.

Hide only got a second to look around the room before Kaneki was up in his space, reeling him in by their joined hands and pulling him forward until they were standing flush against each other.

"This is what you want too, right?” Kaneki said, as though it weren’t perfectly obvious that this was exactly where Hide wanted to be. As if he hadn’t _asked_ less than a minute earlier when they’d both been standing by Kaneki’s couch making eyes at each other.

“Yeah,” Hide said, not really capable of being more eloquent at the moment.

“Okay,” Kaneki said softly. His breath ghosted across Hide’s lips as he swayed forward, tilting his head up to give Hide a kiss.

Hide returned the kiss immediately, pushing into the contact. He focused on the feel of Kaneki’s lips against his, the kiss more tentative than it should have been for all the desire behind it. Hide let himself get so caught up in the feeling that he didn’t notice Kaneki letting go of his hand to pull him in closer until two arms wrapped around his waist.

Letting out a whine at the touch, Hide’s hands wandered up Kaneki’s sides and cupped the back of his neck to pull him closer. Kaneki made a pleased sound as Hide readjusted him, and Hide found himself unable to resist the temptation to thread his fingers into Kaneki’s hair.

It was exactly as soft and silky as it looked, and Hide might have made a slightly undignified noise at the discovery. Kaneki responded in kind by arching into the touch like a cat, eyes hooded as he peppered kisses along Hide’s cheekbones.

“Can you take this off?” Kaneki breathed into Hide’s ear, hands tugging gently at the hem of his shirt.

“Yeah,” Hide answered mindlessly, trying to shimmy his way out of the shirt without having to take his hands off of Kaneki. He blushed a little when the maneuver didn’t work quite as well in reality as it had in his head. “Sorry. Let me just-”

Hide leaned back, disentangling himself from Kaneki just long enough to yank the shirt over his head and toss it to the floor. He could pick it up later; there was a sexy and willing ghoul waiting for him and he didn’t intend to disappoint.

“Yours?” Hide asked, hands reaching out and flicking open the top button of Kaneki’s uniform shirt.

Kaneki hummed noncommittally in reply, leaning forward to mouth along Hide’s neck. And as much as Hide wanted to see a sexy, willing, and _naked_ ghoul, this was fine too. Pausing over Hide’s jugular, Kaneki dug in with his teeth just enough for Hide’s vision to flash white with a jolt of adrenaline before backing off.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Hide breathed, shaking slightly as his body came down from the sudden high. He felt Kaneki smirk against his neck and oh, it was on. He was not letting Kaneki win this.

Placing his hands on Kaneki’s hips, Hide slowly slid them up his body. He took his time tracing the dips and swells of Kaneki’s abdomen, searching for a reaction. It didn’t take long before he got one, and Hide grinned at the barely detectable shudder running through the muscles under his hands. Once Kaneki had stilled, Hide withdrew his touch to teasingly open the next button on his shirt.

Kaneki let out a soft keening noise and swayed forward at the loss of skin on skin contact, and Hide couldn’t help but oblige him.

“Gorgeous,” Hide whispered into Kaneki’s ear, biting gently at the shell as he continued to trail his hands up Kaneki’s chest.

Kaneki retaliated by biting Hide’s collarbone, and Hide let out a yelp of surprise followed by a low moan as Kaneki ran his tongue soothingly over the irritated skin. Hide couldn’t really say he minded losing the initiative, not with the way Kaneki was going. Hands slipped into his back pockets, and Hide let out a low moan as Kaneki guided his hips forward and _Jesus_ Kaneki was happy to see him.

Hide ground forward against Kaneki and gasped at the sensation, the pressure against his dick making him realize for the first time just how hard he was.

“Fuck,” Hide swore, hips jerking forward of their own accord.

Kaneki pulled back, denying him the friction he needed and that really wasn’t _fair_.

“ _Kaneki_ ,” Hide whined, not to proud to admit it.

“I thought you wanted me to take my shirt off,” Kaneki said, and Hide could hear the smirk in his voice, the smug bastard.

“Yeah, but not _right now_ ,” Hide informed him petulantly. He pouted as Kaneki pulled back to undo the last few buttons on his shirt, sliding it off and discarding it on the floor next to Hide’s.

“Better?” Kaneki asked, smirking brazenly and twirling for Hide’s perusal. And yeah, yeah that was better.

Except.

“What’s that?” Hide asked, stepping forward to trace a scar that ran along Kaneki’s abdomen. The skin didn’t feel any different to the touch, so he must have missed it before when he hadn’t been able to see it.

“Ah,” Kaneki said, hand coming to cover the scar. “That’s- It’s not- Um.”

The confidence bled out of Kaneki’s posture, and Hide kicked himself for asking about something so obviously personal. He’d been worried that it might have been from the fight with Shachi earlier that night, but if that were the case Kaneki should be covered in marks. This had to be something older.

“Sorry,” Hide offered, reaching forward and covering Kaneki’s hand with his own. “I shouldn’t have asked.”

“It’s okay,” Kaneki said, turning his hand to lace his fingers with Hide’s. “It’s from the surgery. Kanou’s.”

“Oh,” Hide said, unable to come up with an intelligent response to Kaneki sharing something like that. Instead he gripped Kaneki’s hand harder and pulled him in for a hug, letting his free hand trace mindless circles on the back of Kaneki’s neck as he buried his face in Hide’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

“Is it okay?” Kaneki asked, quiet but earnest. “I just. Ghouls don’t scar and humans- I can’t even do that right.”

“Yeah,” Hide said instantly. “No, it’s fine. It’s yours right? It’s just another part of you. It’s perfect.”

Kaneki shifted and let out a huff, his breath warm against Hide’s collarbone. “Yeah, I guess,” he said, the _if you say so_ clear in his voice.

Hide gently nudged Kaneki up off his shoulder so he could meet his eyes. “You may not remember, but scars are a pretty normal thing for humans.”

“Yeah?” Kaneki asked, pulling himself back together as Hide watched.

“Yeah,” Hide said, smiling as he regained his footing. “I’ve got some pretty weird ones too.”

Stepping back from his embrace, Kaneki gave Hide an appraising look. “I see an appendectomy scar. Maybe a stretch mark or two.”

“Hey,” Hide protested. “I’ll have you know that my scars were earned in the pursuit of greatness.”

His declaration made Kaneki raise his eyebrows in amused disbelief, and Hide grinned at his success.

“In fact,” Hide said, making a show of turning around and waving a hand in the general vicinity of his left shoulder blade. “I got that one the first time Kimi and I had to make a getaway up a ventilation shaft. I was shimmying up, as you do, and _bam!_ Jagged piece of metal lining digging into my back and we’re twenty feet off the ground with no way out but up.”

Hide heard Kaneki step forward and felt a soft touch on his shoulder. “Didn’t it hurt?”

“Nah,” Hide said, hearing the underlying question and twisting around so that he could see Kaneki. “It takes more than this to scare me off. Barely even hurt when I got it either; too much adrenaline to really feel anything and by the time it wore off I was already stitched up.”

Kaneki hummed as he continued his examination, and Hide shivered at the sensation as he ran his fingers along the line of the scar.

“What about this one?” Kaneki asked, fingers gliding over a patch of rough skin near the small of Hide’s back.

Hide blushed, glad that his back was turned so Kaneki couldn’t see. “That might be from accidentally leaning up against a stove eye,” he said, trying not to sound embarrassed. _Pursuit of greatness._ Heh. “I’m not really cut out to be a master chef.”

Kaneki made a considering noise and ran his fingers over the raised scar again, apparently reassessing it now that he knew it was a burn. “Accidentally?” he asked.

“I may have gotten distracted while I was cooking dinner and then leaned up against the stove instead of the counter,” Hide said. “Possibly.”

“I see,” Kaneki said, clearly substituting _heating up_ for _cooking_. Hide would have liked to deny it, but he figured it would be bad to get in the habit of lying to his boyfriend. Was Kaneki his boyfriend? Maybe he should he use a different word. Main squeeze? That sounded like he was using Kaneki for his connections, although he couldn’t deny that they were useful.

“What about these?” Kaneki said, interrupting Hide’s thoughts and leaning forward to press a kiss to his shoulder.

Turning his head to check what Kaneki was referring to, Hide saw that his gaze was fixed on the cluster of small white lines that ran along the meat of his shoulder.

Well, at least those had a funny story.

“Way back when I successfully finished my first paying gig, Kimi thought we should celebrate with whiskey. The next thing I remember is me sitting at my kitchen table while Kimi pulled the glass shards out of my shoulder. Neither of us remember anything that happened after we opened the whiskey, and Nishio claims he didn’t see it, so I still don’t really know what happened.”

Kaneki ran his fingers gently over each of the scars, a serious expression on his face. “You need to take better care of yourself. You’re too reckless.”

Apparently Hide was the only one who thought that was a funny story. Which it was, Kaneki just didn’t have the list of all the other stupid things Hide had done combined with the benefit of hindsight to properly appreciate it.

Someday. He’d get Kaneki to appreciate it eventually.

“It’s a work in progress,” Hide said. “I’m sure between you and Kimi you’ll keep me in line.”

“I was hoping we wouldn’t have to."

“You really don’t,” Hide said, letting his voice trail up into a more teasing tone. “I haven’t gotten any new ones in a while. The last one is really interesting though.”

Hide caught Kaneki’s wary look and took his hand, sliding it down along his pants leg to his inner thigh and turning to grin at him. “You might want to take a look.”

Kaneki relaxed as he realized what Hide was doing and ran his hand up and down Hide’s thigh, playing along with the charade. “I don’t know, doesn’t feel like there’s anything there.”

“That’s because you need to take my pants off first, obviously,” Hide said with a laugh, ignoring the unflattering insinuation in favor of getting naked. “Maybe you should do that.”

Kaneki let out an exasperated groan. “I thought that’s where you were going, but I was really hoping I was wrong. That was a _terrible_ line.”

“But it’s working,” Hide replied with a grin. “It is working, right?”

“It is,” Kaneki confirmed, sounding like he was questioning what was wrong with himself.

Hide laughed, undoing the button on his pants and kicking them off. “In that case, I’ll give you some help.”

Kaneki sighed and nudged Hide toward the bed. Hide followed the direction easily, flopping onto his back and watching Kaneki undo the series of clasps and hooks that held up the black slacks he’d taken from the coffee shop.

“Those pants look way too complicated,” Hide commented when Kaneki finally slid the pants down his legs and took them off, folding them carefully before moving toward the bed. “I’ll admit that they look nice, but at what cost?”

“They’re a waiter’s uniform,” Kaneki said, as if that explained everything. It might; waiters probably got in trouble for letting someone else undo their pants during work hours. Of course, it might also have something to do with the way the fastening looked, but Hide liked his explanation better.

But now the pants were off and Hide could appreciate the view as he leaned back against the bed, spreading his legs in invitation. “So now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, do you want to see that interesting scar?”

Kaneki snorted in amusement and climbed onto the bed to kiss him instead. Hide responded automatically to the intent behind the kiss, pressing up against Kaneki to give as good as he got. He felt Kaneki’s hands land on his shoulders and slowly come up to cradle his face, guiding him to exactly where Kaneki wanted him to be. When Kaneki eventually pulled back, Hide gave a small whine of disappointment.

“Maybe later,” Kaneki said with a smirk. It took a few moments for Hide to make sense of what Kaneki had said, too strung out from just a few touches to put together the pieces of their conversation.

“You don’t play fair,” Hide informed him, pouting at Kaneki until he broke and let out a small smile. Unable to resist the temptation, Hide leaned up and kissed the corners of Kaneki’s mouth. “It looks good on you,” he said softly, catching Kaneki’s eyes to let him know how much he meant it.

Kaneki’s gaze shifted away uncomfortably, but the smile lingered around the edges of his mouth. Hide tilted up to kiss him again, wrapping his arms around Kaneki’s shoulders and pulling him down to the bed. Lightly running his nails down Kaneki’s back, Hide cupped Kaneki’s ass to pull him forward, grinding up against him as he did.

Hide gasped at the friction and grinned a little at Kaneki’s surprised moan. “Feels nice, doesn’t it?”

“Feels nice for both of us,” Kaneki said, drawing another breathy sigh out of Hide as he pushed his hips down again.

Hide released his grip on Kaneki’s ass to lick his hand and wrap it around their cocks. “Feels even better when you do this though,” he said, giving an experimental pump.

Kaneki let out a moan at the new sensation and his hips snapped forward, pushing both of them harder into Hide’s grip. Hide gasped at the sensation and tightened his hand around them as his hips spasmed up against Kaneki’s.

“Fuck,” Kaneki swore, reaching down to add his hand to the mess between them.

Hide swore as he felt Kaneki’s hand wrap around his, hips jerking violently as Kaneki’s finger brushed gently against his balls. “Yeah,” he agreed breathlessly, straining up into the contact.

Dropping his head to rest against the pillow by Hide’s shoulder, Kaneki latched onto Hide’s jugular again. He worried at the skin with his teeth and Hide let out a startled moan, the rush of adrenaline at letting a ghoul that close to a vital area combining with the sucking pressure on his neck to make him see stars.

“That’s going to leave a mark,” Hide informed him, figuring that’s probably what Kaneki had been going for but wanting confirmation anyway.

”I know,” Kaneki said, a pleased look in his eyes.

Leaning off the bed, Kaneki pulled out the nightstand and started rummaging around. After a minute he let out a satisfied grunt and shimmied his way back onto the bed, holding up a bottle of lube for Hide’s inspection.

“Want to?” Kaneki asked.

“Yes,” Hide replied, his cock twitching in his hand at the though. “Definitely, yeah.”

“Okay,” Kaneki said, sitting up and settling his weight on Hide’s thighs.

Hide watched in fascination as Kaneki uncapped the bottle, squirting a large dollop of lube onto his fingertips. Snapping the lid closed again and tossing the bottle off to the side, Kaneki held up his hand to let the lube slowly slide down his fingers, using his thumb to spread it evenly across the skin.

A high pitched whine sounded in the room, and it took Hide a moment to realize it was coming from him. Kaneki looked amused, his mouth quirking up at the edges as he shifted to reach behind himself with his slicked up hand.

“Do you want me to...” Hide trailed off, unabashedly staring at Kaneki’s expressions as he started working himself open. He swallowed and tried again. “I could do that, if you wanted me to.”

Kaneki met his gaze head on and smirked before letting out an exaggerated groan, rocking back against his own fingers. Hide brought his hands up to rest on Kaneki’s thighs, enjoying the obvious strength in the muscles as they tensed and relaxed under his touch. He looked both powerful and vulnerable like this, and Hide couldn’t help but revel in the fact the _he_ was the one who got to see it.

“You can if you want.”

It took a moment for the words to pierce through the haze of lust that had settled around Hide, but as soon as they fully registered he reached out and grabbed for the bottle of lube. Fumbling the cap off, Hide turned the bottle upside down, shook it a few times, and squeezed.

Hide felt a cool sensation spreading over his hand and stared down at the mess in betrayal because that? That was _way_ too much lube. Snapping the cap closed again Hide tried to spread the lube over his fingers, hoping it would thin out to manageable levels if he could get it to cover enough surface area.

Nope.

“Um,” Hide said, his cheeks flushing as he looked to Kaneki for help.

The muscles in Kaneki’s jaw twitched in a way that said he was trying very hard not to laugh as he reached out to the nightstand with his clean hand. “Tissues?” Kaneki asked, his voice cracking in the middle of the word as he offered the box to Hide.

“Thanks,” Hide mumbled, snatching a few sheets out of the box and furiously wiping the excess lube off his palm. When he glanced back up Kaneki had set the tissues back on the nightstand and was looking down at him with an amused expression. “Can I still...?”

Kaneki nodded, sitting up straight and spreading his knees a little wider on the bed to give Hide better access.

Taking the opportunity to savor the experience, Hide slowly ran his fingers down Kaneki’s cock, giving it a few teasing strokes before moving back toward his main goal. Kaneki’s hole was already slick from where he had been opening himself up, and the muscle gave easily under a light touch. Ignoring the breathy gasp Kaneki let out when Hide pressed against him, he ran his nails lightly against the sensitive skin just to the side of where Kaneki wanted him.

“Hide,” Kaneki whined, pushing back into his touch. “If you’re going to do it, do it _right_.”

Hide couldn’t help the grin that spread over his face at Kaneki’s tight expression, clearly irritated at Hide for the teasing but also more turned on than he wanted to admit. Still, it was only fun up to a point, and he did want to get to the main event.

“If you insist,” Hide said, his fingers sliding easily into Kaneki as he pressed them forward.

“Yes,” Kaneki hissed out, his body shuddering around Hide’s fingers. Twisting his fingers experimentally, Hide watched Kaneki for a reaction.

Kaneki let out a moan, his eyes going blissfully blank for a brief moment as Hide crooked his fingers forward and pressed against Kaneki’s walls.

“There,” Kaneki said, trying to maneuver himself down onto Hide’s fingers so that they would find his prostate again. “Right there. Do that again.”

In lieu of answering Hide repeated the movement, rubbing his fingers over Kaneki’s prostate with a constant pressure. He watched in rapt attention as Kaneki moaned above him, muscles trembling as he tried to hold himself perfectly still to keep Hide’s fingers exactly where he wanted them.

Hide saw the moment when Kaneki gave out, his whole body jerking forward as his muscles spasmed in protest of the enforced stillness. As he recovered, Kaneki began to move in a gentle rhythm, fucking himself slowly up and down on Hide’s fingers.

“Condom?” Hide asked, his voice coming out much rougher than he expected.

Grabbing something off the bed, Kaneki held up a condom for his inspection. Hide blinked in surprise. He didn’t remember seeing it earlier and wasn’t totally sure where it had come from, but he was also completely sure he didn’t care.

“Here,” he said, reaching out to take the condom from Kaneki only to have it pulled back out of reach. Hide let out an involuntary whine of disappointment, catching Kaneki’s gaze to try to figure out his game.

“My turn,” Kaneki said, leaning forward to drop a kiss on Hide’s forehead.

Hide laughed. “Okay then, show me what you’ve got.”

Kaneki’s mouth curled up at the edges and he tossed Hide a wink as he took the foil packet and brought it up to his mouth, ripping it open with his teeth. And yeah, Hide knew that that wasn’t how condoms were supposed to be opened, but _holy shit_ his dick did not care. _He_ didn’t care. He didn’t care because _goddamn_ that was sexy.

Kaneki tossed the foil wrapper to the side and didn’t waste any time in rolling the condom over Hide’s dick, his hand giving Hide just enough pressure that he gasped and saw stars. Hide lay frozen as he watched Kaneki straddle his waist and line himself up with Hide’s cock. Hide let out a whimper but managed to hold still, waiting for whatever Kaneki wanted to do.

After what seemed like forever, Kaneki finally moved; letting Hide’s cock breech the ring of muscle and letting out a sinful groan. He gasped as he felt himself being enveloped, his fingers digging into Kaneki’s thighs as he watched him cock inch deeper into Kaneki’s welcoming body.

“Holy shit,” Hide gasped as Kaneki bottomed out, the sensation of Kaneki clenching and relaxing around him as he adjusted to the penetration only slightly less overwhelming now that Kaneki wasn’t actively moving. “ _Holy shit_.”

Hide felt a hand land on his stomach and looked up to see Kaneki bracing himself to move, and no way. If he let that happen this would be over _way_ too soon.

“Wait, wait,” he yelped, frantically reaching out to stop Kaneki before he could get going. “Could you, maybe, give me a minute?”

Kaneki nodded, his pupils blown and his breath coming in pants as he held himself still over Hide. Taking a few deep breaths, Hide closed his eyes and tried to will himself to calm down. When he felt like it had regained enough control, he opened his eyes and took in the view of Kaneki sitting astride him.

Well shit. So much for control.

“Okay,” Hide said, hoping he could hold on long enough to show Kaneki a good time too. “Okay, you can move.”

Kaneki’s thighs flexed under Hide’s hands as he slowly rose up, going until only the head of Hide’s cock remained in his body and then slamming himself back down.

“ _Fuck!_ ” Hide swore, his hands flying to Kaneki’s hips as though that would give him any sort of control over what Kaneki wanted to do.

A helpless whimper escaped Hide’s mouth as Kaneki started to build up a rhythm, the heat and pressure of Kaneki’s body around him only becoming more intense as he began to move. Kaneki was letting out breathy moans as he fucked himself on Hide’s cock, and Hide couldn’t tear his gaze away from the sight in front of him. As he watched, Hide realized that Kaneki was adjusting himself ever so slightly with every thrust, searching for the angle that would hit his sweet spot.

“There- fuck yeah. Right there, _oh_.”

Hide couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face when Kaneki found the angle he wanted. He might not be able to take much of the credit for Kaneki’s pleasure, but it still gave him a surge of pride to know that Kaneki was feeling this good with _him_.

Moving carefully so as not to throw off Kaneki’s momentum, Hide wrapped one of his hands around Kaneki’s cock.

“This okay?” he asked a little breathlessly as he started to move his hand, trying to match Kaneki’s rhythm.

“A little tighter,” he instructed. Hide complied. “Yeah, just like that,” Kaneki groaned, leaning forward so he could alternate between thrusting into Hide’s hand and fucking himself on Hide’s dick.

Kaneki looked down at him and smiled. Well, his cheeks moved up and made his eyes light up, which was essentially a smile. Hide knew he was giving Kaneki a glassy eyed stare in return, but he dared anyone to have this view and _not_ look completely fucked out.

Apparently taking Hide’s expression as a sign that things were going well, Kaneki began to build up speed. A moan punched its way out of Hide’s chest at the feeling, a familiar tension starting to pool in his groin.

“Kaneki,” he stuttered out, the hand on Kaneki’s hip gripping tighter in a nonverbal warning that he was close.

“Yeah,” Kaneki breathed out. “Yeah, me too, just...”

Kaneki wrapped his hand around the one Hide had on his dick, directing him to make it rougher, especially on the upstroke. Hide did as he was shown, and it only took a few strokes before the rhythm Kaneki had been building up faltered and he came, his body collapsing against Hide’s as he rode out his orgasm.

Hide moved his hands to Kaneki’s back, tracing meaningless circles into the skin as he came back to himself.

Picking up his head and turning to face Hide, Kaneki gave him a shy smile. “I can keep going, if you want me too?”

“Only if you want to,” Hide said, knowing he had the same dopily happy look on his face that Kaneki was sporting. “A helping hand would be fine.”

Kaneki huffed in amusement, then laughed outright as he sat back up, his whole body still lose with the effects of his orgasm. “’Helping hand’,” he snorted. “I can do better than that.”

Hide whined as Kaneki’s muscles fluttered around him, Kaneki clenching and relaxing them to readjust to Hide’s girth. Then he started to move. Hide moaned at the feeling, his hips rising up off the bed to meet Kaneki’s on each thrust.

“Oh my god,” Hide whispered, feeling his own orgasm growing close again. “Kaneki. Kaneki, I-”

Not breaking his rhythm, Kaneki leaned down to pull Hide into a kiss, effectively silencing him as his vision whited out as he came.

Hide let out a whine of loss when Kaneki pulled away, still riding the endorphin high and not wanting to lose contact. He whined again when Kaneki pulled off of him, this time reaching out as though he could physically stop Kaneki from leaving.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Kaneki reassured him as he removed the condom and climbed off the bed, a wry smile teasing at the corners of his mouth. “This is my bed, you know. I’m not going to let you steal it.”

That made enough sense to Hide’s orgasm-addled brain that he stopped protesting and rolled onto his side to watch Kaneki toss the condom in the trash and grab a towel from the closet. He came back to the bed and wiped his mess off of Hide’s stomach before tossing the towel to the floor.

Hide hauled himself up, staying upright just long enough to let Kaneki pull the sheets down and scooting back far enough to give Kaneki room to climb in. As soon as Kaneki was settled, Hide shuffled up beside him, dropping his head onto Kaneki’s chest and curling up against his side.

“I hope you know you’re stuck with me now,” Hide mumbled into Kaneki’s chest, enjoying the feel of Kaneki’s solid bulk pressed up against him.

Kaneki pressed a kiss onto the top of his head, and Hide couldn’t help but smile. “I think I was stuck with you the minute you climbed in my window.”

“Mm-hmm,” Hide agreed sleepily, snuggling closer.

Kaneki’s arm came up to wrap around him. “Goodnight to you too, Hide.”

*   *   * 

When Hide opened his eyes the next morning to find the bed empty, he tried not to be disappointed. As he woke up further, he vaguely remembered the feeling of early morning sunshine on his face and a quiet laugh before he’d rolled over and gone back to sleep.

Stumbling out of bed and picking up his discarded underwear from the floor, Hide wandered out into the common area of the apartment. Sure enough, as soon as he made it past the door he was hit by the smell of fresh coffee.

“There’s some left in the pot if you want it,” Kaneki said, taking a sip from his mug and staring at Hide over the rim.

Hide took in the scene before him for a moment, caught up in the picture of Kaneki sitting on sofa with coffee and a morning book before processing the promise of coffee and shuffling his way into the kitchen. Behind him, Kaneki made a noise that was suspiciously like a laugh.

The coffee was indeed sitting on the counter next to a cup and Hide’s sugar and creamer. Grateful for Kaneki’s foresight, Hide poured himself a cup and added a liberal amount of sugar and a little creamer.

Wandering back out into the common area with his coffee, Hide flopped down on the couch beside Kaneki.

“Is it good?” he asked, leaning into Kaneki’s space to peer over his shoulder at the book. He scanned the page but didn’t recognize anything, not that he was surprised.

Kaneki hummed in reply, not looking up as he turned the page. Settling in for the long haul, Hide readjusted himself on the couch and slumped against Kaneki. He cradled his coffee close to his chest, enjoying the way it steamed up at him as he closed his eyes and basked in the moment.

“Hide. ... _Hide_.”

Groggily opening his eyes, Hide turned to see Kaneki looking down at him with a soft expression on his face.

“Sorry,” Hide said, sitting up and setting his coffee on the end table. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.”

“It’s okay,” Kaneki said, then hesitated. “Do you have plans for this afternoon?”

Hide didn’t even try to stop his smile. Kaneki was just too adorable like this, relaxed and in his element but somehow still unsure of his standing with Hide. As if he still couldn’t believe Hide was in this all the way.

“I was planning to see what you were doing,” Hide replied as he stretched and stood. He smirked a little when he saw Kaneki staring.

When Kaneki didn’t say anything, Hide took pity on him. “I take it this means you have plans and I should go get dressed?”

Blushing at being caught out, Kaneki nodded. “Yeah. I’ll wash the cups while you get ready.”

“Okay,” Hide said. “Do you mind if I borrow some of your clothes? Mine are all dirty.”

“Um, sure.”

“Thanks,” Hide said, ducking into the bedroom.

Shutting the door behind him, Hide made his way over to the closet. Kaneki, apparently, had two types of clothes: creature-of-the-night and waiter chic. Disappointed by the lack of variety, Hide turned to check the dresser. It took some searching, but eventually Hide managed to put together a relatively normal looking ensemble with khaki pants and a blue hoodie that came close to being the right size.

Satisfied with his clothing choices, Hide made his way toward to kitchen to see how Kaneki was doing.

“You almost ready?” Hide asked, sidling up behind Kaneki and hooking his chin over his shoulder. “Are you planning on telling me what we’re doing today?”

Shaking the last of the water of out the empty mug, Kaneki set it on the counter and turned to give Hide a sheepish grin. “I need to move out soon, so I was sort of hoping you would be willing to come look at apartments with me?”

“You want me to?” Hide said disbelievingly. In his admittedly limited experience, looking at apartments wasn’t really first date material. Then again, getting a neutral second opinion on apartments was never a bad idea; it’s why he’d dragged Kimi around with him when he had been scouting out the place he lived now.

“Yeah,” Kaneki shrugged, his nonchalant posture at odds with the blush that was threatening to take over his face. “I need to move into the 21st ward, and I’ve heard you know the area.”

“Did Kimi say that?” he asked, remembering the conversation they’d had over lunch. “She mentioned that she and Nishio were looking for a place around there too.”

“She did,” Kaneki confirmed. “I’d have gone with them, but I’m looking for a different sort of place.”

That made sense, since Kimi and Nishio would be looking for a place for a young couple. Hide nodded and shrugged. He could give a second opinion if that’s what Kaneki wanted.

“Sure,” Hide said, turning to indicate the door. “You want to head out now?”

Kaneki nodded, pausing in the common area to grab a sheet of paper from the end table before joining Hide at the door.

“I’ve got a list of places I want to visit,” Kaneki explained as he put on a jacket and slid the paper into his pocket. “I’ve got a few appointments, but most of them are just walk-ins.”

“Okay,” Hide said, holding the door open for Kaneki. “Lead the way.”

The walk to the 21st ward was considerably more pleasant than the other times they’d made it; there was no blood dripping from rapidly healing wounds, no threat nipping at their heels as they made their way through the streets. In fact, now that Hide had a chance to appreciate it, walking through Tokyo with Kaneki was actually kind of fun.

“Won’t you be just a little bit sad, leaving all this behind?” Hide asked as they crossed the border into the 21st ward. “You spent a lot of time working in the 7th ward, right?”

Kaneki shook his head. “It served its purpose. And everyone I worked with is coming with me to Anteiku, or at least to the 21st ward.”

“Your hit squad is coming with you?” Hide asked, grinning widely at the way Kaneki winced at the nickname. “Do I get to meet them?”

“I’m. Um. Not sure that would be a good idea.”

“Shouldn’t I get to know them if I’m going to be working with you? Or am I going to be relegated to milk runs and the occasional heist with Kimi and Nishio?” Hide tried to cover up the hurt and irritation that shot through him with humor, but it fell a little short of the mark.

“No,” Kaneki said immediately. “Not unless that’s what you want, but. Some of the people who work with me aren’t exactly human friendly.”

“You do remember that my line of work puts me in contact with a fairly large number of unfriendly ghouls, right? I’ve had clients who insisted I do work with ghouls I’d never met before and I’ve made it out alive.”

Kaneki shifted uncomfortably. “A one off job is different from an ongoing work relationship. But we’ll see.”

Hide relented, satisfied for now. He’d have more opportunities to bother Kaneki about meeting his team, and this was hardly an opportune time anyway. They were on a date, he should be thinking about date-like things.

“This is the first address,” Kaneki said, interrupting Hide’s thoughts and pointing at an apartment building that looked like almost exactly like the one he lived in now. Hide squinted up at it and resisted the urge to duck around the corner to check for a smelly dumpster and rickety fire escape just to make sure.

Not waiting for a reply, Kaneki walked into the lobby and greeted the desk clerk with a shy grin. “Hello, I have an appointment with the landlord to look at apartment 320.”

“Sure thing,” the clerk replied. “Can I get your name and ID?”

“Kaneki Ken,” Kaneki replied, sliding an ID card across the counter and hunching in on himself as though he were a first time renter unsure of what he was doing. If Hide hadn’t known better, he would have assumed Kaneki was nervous.

“Looks good,” the clerk said, handing Kaneki the ID back and sliding a key across the counter after it. “I’ll go ahead and let you in and the landlady’ll meet you up there in a few minutes. Sound good?”

Kaneki nodded. “Thanks.”

The lock on the door leading to the stairwell clicked open and the clerk waved them through. Kaneki held the door open for Hide, following him up the stairs to the third floor.

“You’re really good at that,” Hide commented, unable to keep quiet now that they were relatively alone.

“Good at what?” Kaneki asked.

“Playing the part,” Hide explained, then continued at Kaneki’s confused look. “The whole first-time-renter persona you had going on. You’d be really good at recon, if that’s not something you do already.”

“Oh,” Kaneki said softly, bringing up a hand to rub at his chin. “Yeah, it’s always a good idea to have a cover.”

Hide stared. Honestly, he’d probably never met a worse liar, which was impressive considering what Kaneki did for a living. “You know,” he said, reaching out and nudging gently at Kaneki’s shoulder, “it’s not a bad thing to take some time to be yourself between jobs. No one needs to be unshakable all the time.”

Kaneki’s eyes widened just a fraction, and he flashed a shy smile at Hide before directing his gaze back to the ground. Hide grinned broadly, unable to help himself. This Kaneki, the Kaneki who wasn’t in his element, was just as adorable as the confident version of him was hot. It was a sure sign that Hide was head over heels for Kaneki, not that that was new information.

They arrived at the door and Kaneki pulled out the key, letting them in to the empty apartment. On first glance, its layout was eerily similar to Kaneki’s current apartment. The small kitchen was set aside from a modestly sized living area, although the window looked out onto a park rather than a dirty back alley.

“It looks nice,” Hide offered as they walked further in. “Really, creepily similar to your place now, but nice.”

Kaneki gave him a sideways glance, apparently back in his comfort zone. “It would be harder for you to break in though,” he observed dryly. “No fire escape.”

“Please,” Hide scoffed, the effect somewhat ruined by the grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. “The guy at the desk was a total pushover. I could easily con my way up.”

Kaneki nodded, not bothering to make an argument against that. “It’s bigger though,” he said conversationally, heading toward the hallway leading toward the bedrooms.

Hide followed, unsure exactly what Kaneki meant. He found out as soon as they reached the end of the hallway. Instead of one room like Kaneki’s current apartment there were three. And unless his eyes were playing tricks on him, they were significantly larger than the one Kaneki lived in now.

“Okay,” Hide agreed. “It’s bigger. Why is it bigger?”

Before Kaneki could answer, the apartment door opened and the landlady walked in. “Kaneki Ken?”

“I’m here,” Kaneki said, leading Hide back into the common area.

She nodded at him in greeting. “What do you think?”

“It’s nice. Lots of space and I like the location,” Kaneki said, but Hide could hear the refusal coming. It was nice, too nice. Not the sort of nice someone like Kaneki needed. “But I’ll need to look around some more before I make a commitment.”

“Alright,” the landlady said, not seeming bothered by Kaneki’s dismissal of her property. “I’ve got another prospective renter coming in later this afternoon though, so it may not be available if you take too long to decide.”

The smile Kaneki gave her was perfectly polite, but Hide thought he could detect an undercurrent of dismissal in it and made a note to ask about it when they were out of earshot.

Apparently the landlady thought that she had a better bet at hooking whoever her next appointment was, because she didn’t try to get them to sign anything before they left.

“So you’re not looking for a carbon copy of your current living arrangement?” Hide asked when they were back out on the street, following Kaneki’s directions to the next apartment he wanted to look at.

“It was a nice apartment,” Kaneki said, echoing his words to the landlady. “But the security and the location aren’t really what I’m looking for.”

“As in too nice and too secure? Or not close enough to :Re and too easy to break into?” Hide asked, honestly unsure what Kaneki meant. It wasn’t as though his current apartment was Fort Knox, but it did have the demon lady who guarded the lobby.

Kaneki just shook his head and gave Hide an amused smile, leading the way off the main drag through a maze of alleyways and backstreets instead of answering properly. Hide shrugged to himself, figuring he’d get an answer eventually. Maybe even at the next place they went.

The next place turned out to be an older building located on a small side street of a major thoroughfare.

“So glad we took the scenic route to get here,” Hide said sarcastically, looking up at the building with some level of skepticism. If security was something Kaneki had in mind, there was no way he would be considering this place. He was pretty sure he could have broken in with a hairpin before he became a professional thief.

“It’s always good to know your territory,” Kaneki said mildly, leading Hide around to the back of the building where a sign labeled ‘Leasing Office’ pointed to a frosted glass door.

“Think you’ll need to put up any fences?” Hide joked as they walked in. “Stake your claim?”

Kaneki gave him a grin that was more bared teeth than it was smile. “I’d hardly need a fence for that.”

Hide let out a bark of laughter, remembering that Kaneki had a position in the ghoul administration for the 21st ward. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

Kaneki’s face opened up into a proper grin at Hide’s comment. “I’ll need to make sure it’s safe for my favorite humans though.”

“I appreciate that,” Hide said, because he did. It felt good to have people looking out for him, especially when he didn’t have to pay them to do it.

“Good to know,” Kaneki said, pushing the door open and headed over to the main desk with a spring in his step. Hide trailed behind him, enjoying Kaneki’s obvious high spirits as much as the view.

By the time he made it over to the front desk, Kaneki was frowning intently at the receptionist.

“When I spoke to the landlord, I asked to view a three bedroom apartment,” Kaneki said, staring down at the receptionist in displeasure. “And they assured me that one was available.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but we do not have any three bedroom units available for rent at this time. Perhaps you would be interested in viewing one of our larger two bedroom units instead?” she said, glancing over at Hide as she spoke. “They have the same square footage as several of our three bedroom units and are more than adequate for roommates.”

“I specifically requested to view a three bedroom apartment today,” Kaneki insisted, ignoring her implication that Hide would be his roommate. “Are there going to be any coming available before the end of the month?”

She turned to her computer and clicked a few times before replying. “No, sir, I’m sorry. It doesn’t appear that we will have any three bedroom units vacating this month. There are several leases that will be up next month, maybe if you come back then we’ll have something that will interest you.”

“I might,” Kaneki said, although his tone conveyed a different story. “Thank you for your time.”

Hide waited for Kaneki to pass him on the way out, then drew up shoulder to shoulder with him once they hit the road. “It was probably just a communication error,” he said, trying to be the voice of reason.

“Probably,” Kaneki agreed, not sounding like he really cared one way or the other. Hide didn’t blame him; apartment hunting was bad enough on its own without having to go places that didn’t even have what you were looking for.

“We could take a break,” Hide suggested. “Go for coffee or something. Unless you have more you need to get done?”

“Just one more, and then we can do lunch,” Kaneki said. “I have a recommendation for a restaurant, and this place is on the way.”

“Lunch?” Hide asked. “You want to go out to eat?”

Kaneki looked confused. “Isn’t that what people usually do on dates?”

A warm feeling spread through Hide’s chest at Kaneki’s words, but he didn’t feel like he could concede the point. “Yeah, but aren’t restaurants a problem when you can’t eat the food?”

“I can eat food,” Kaneki protested.

“I’ve seen Nishio eat food,” Hide countered. “And I’ve seen the after effects. It’s really not something you need to do for me.”

Kaneki shrugged, as though being violently sick was something he actually wanted to do. “You need to eat though,” he said. “And it would be nice to do something human again.”

Hide hadn’t thought of it from that angle, but now that he did it made a lot more sense. Kaneki had been human before he’d been experimented on by Dr. Kanou, and he probably hadn’t gotten the chance to do a lot of normal human things like go out for lunch with his date. Boyfriend. Girlfriend. Whoever.

“Fine, but I’m not letting you eat,” Hide said, determined to watch Kaneki like a hawk if it meant keeping him from making himself sick.

Humming agreeably in reply, Kaneki pointed to a door wedged between a beauty parlor and a nail salon.

“That’s it.”

“That’s it?” Hide repeated dubiously, staring at the door.

“Yeah,” Kaneki said, good mood apparently restored. He opened the door and led the way up the flight of stairs to the second story landing where, Hide presumed, the landlord’s office was located.

When they got to the top of the stairs, Hide had to rethink his opinion, because the room they walked into looked _nothing_ like an office. In fact, it looked exactly like the second story of a nail salon.

Unperturbed by the lack of office space, Kaneki walked up to the woman who was tidying up a pedicure station. “Hello, I’m here to ask about the apartment for rent above the salon?”

The woman looked up from her work and smiled, setting down her equipment and wiping her hands on her uniform. “Then you must be Kaneki Ken,” she said, moving away from the work station to greet them. “Mizuki-san told me to expect you. I have a few minutes to spare, so if you’ll follow me I’ll show you right up.”

Hide stared in a sort of daze as the woman, Tsukino Hana according to her name tag, lead them back onto the landing and opened a door that led to - surprise - another set of stairs. This one was shorter than the first and differed again when Tsukino opened the door at the top to reveal a small lounge set up with a coffee table and couches. It was eerily similar to the meeting room at the :Re coffee shop, except that it was surrounded by doors with individual numbers on them.

“Each door locks individually and leads to a bedroom-bathroom unit,” Tsukino explained, leading them over to the door marked with a number one. “The original owner here had it built in hopes of renting the rooms out to the employees to foster a familial work environment at the shop. Most of us live with our husbands though, and we haven’t been able to find any renters who are willing to overlook the location and the layout.”

The location? What was wrong with the location? Hide understood potential renters having reservations about the layout and its uncomfortably communal nature, but the business district of the 21st ward was hardly a bad location.

Tsukino smiled and nodded at him, and Hide blushed as he realized he’d said his question out loud. “Not many people are willing to put up with the noises and chemical smells that come with living above a nail salon,” she explained. “In this area, most people are looking for a small place to settle down or start a family and our loft isn’t the most attractive option.”

“I see,” Hide said, trying to imagine what a normal person would see when they visited that would put them off. Noise? Too many other people? Busy at all hours of the day?

Although Hide was aware that his standards for apartments were a little skewed, this place sounded completely perfect. No one would notice the flow in and out of the apartment; they’d just assume it was for the shop. And if Kaneki planned to buy out every room, which Hide had a sneaking suspicion he did, then the layout wouldn’t give him any problems. Plus, any loud noises would be written off as industrial hairdryers or shaving tools or whatever they were using in beauty salons now, and even weird smells would be explained away as chemical cleaners used by the staff. It was a ghoul’s wet dream come to life.

Hide glanced over at Kaneki to see if he was thinking the same thing. He was nodding thoughtfully and looking at the room skeptically, but Hide was pretty sure he was just feigning indifference so he didn’t seem too eager.

“I have a few people I’ll need to get in touch with,” Kaneki said, turning to face Tsukino. “But would you please let Mizuki-san know that I’m interested and will be back again later?”

“Of course!” she said with a bright smile. “I’ll be happy to let her know.”

“Will she be in this afternoon?” Kaneki asked.

“Today’s her day off,” Tuskino said. “But she works all day tomorrow, so you can stop by before we open and she can show you and your guests up.”

“Thank you, Tsukino-san,” Kaneki said, taking a last good look at the room. “We’ll get out of your hair and let you get back to your job.”

“It’s no problem,” Tsukino said. “This time of afternoon isn’t that busy; it’s just past lunch hour so mostly we’re just cleaning up for the evening shift.”

“Still, we appreciate you taking the time out of your day to show us the apartments,” Kaneki said as they reached the second floor landing. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning to let Mizuki-san know if I’ll be renting.”

“I’ll tell her to expect you,” Tsukino said, stepping into the second floor of the salon and waving at them. “Have a good afternoon.”

“Good afternoon,” Hide and Kaneki chorused at the closing door, waiting until Tsukino had gone back to her work before heading back down to street level.

Hide followed Kaneki down the road in silence for a few minutes, mulling over the details of where Kaneki had gone before posing his question.

“I take it you’re going to rent there?” he asked, posing the question neutrally. He wanted to know why Kaneki was looking to move into such a large apartment when he was currently living in a single. More realistically, he wanted to know how it would affect the two of them.

Kaneki nodded. “Unless someone objects, yeah.”

“So who are the other rooms for then?” Hide asked, treading closer to what he really wanted to know. “Assuming you’re taking all the rooms, of course.”

“I am,” Kaneki confirmed blithely. “I’ve got some people who have stuck with me since before I moved into the 7th ward, and I’m not going to settle in somewhere without them.”

It would probably be insensitive to ask where these people had been when Hide had broken into Kaneki’s apartment the first time, so he didn’t say anything. Still, if he planned on seeing more of Kaneki, he should probably know more about his housemates.

“Have I met any of them?” he asked instead.

Kaneki looked thoughtful for a moment, then shook his head. “No, they all work directly with me. None of them were directly involved in the deal with Aogiri. Tsukiyama-san especially doesn’t mix well with the people at Anteiku.”

Hide tried to imagine that, Kaneki having his own group of followers who didn’t mesh well with the human-friendly atmosphere at Anteiku. “Are you going to start working together more?” Hide asked, hoping Kaneki would hear the underlying question.

“Maybe,” Kaneki replied. “Tuskiyama-san doesn’t get along well with Touka-chan or Nishio-san, so he’ll probably work mostly with me. Banjou-san and his friends will probably like Anteiku, but they seem to want to follow me personally.”

“So you’re going to have your own place away from all the people at Anteiku?”

“It’s a good idea to have us spread out around the ward to keep an eye on things,” Kaneki said sounding a little strained. “Plus, it won’t be all of us all the time. But our timescale to move out of the 7th ward is short and I want to be sure everyone has a place to go. We’ll still be going to meetings at :Re and working with Anteiku, just not as coffee shop employees.”

Hide nodded and dropped the topic, but he couldn’t help the little bolt of happiness at knowing that this was Kaneki looking out for his friends. He’d known there was something different about Kaneki after he’d let Hide leave his apartment that first night, but it was nice to have proof too.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, Kaneki leading the way down the main road toward their next destination. Hide followed in silence for a few blocks, mostly content to let Kaneki determine wherever they would be stopping next.

Kaneki stopped in front of a small soup and sandwich shop, glancing over at Hide as though to make sure the choice was okay with him.

Hide just shrugged in response and walked in. He had no problem with the shop itself; it was past his normal lunchtime and he was willing to eat pretty much anything they had on the menu. Leading the way inside, Hide sat at a table in the corner so they would have a good view of both the shop and the street outside.

“So,” Hide said, settling down into his seat, “how exactly did you hear about this place? I wasn’t aware that your friends were the type to frequent sandwich shops.”

“A friend of a friend. Sort of like you but more into cooking and less...” Kaneki trailed off, waving his hand to encompass all of Hide.

Giving him a disgruntled look, Hide translated. “So someone who likes the same sort of food as me but works somewhat normal hours.”

“Exactly,” Kaneki said, his eyes lighting up like he was trying to suppress a smile.

Hide was momentarily distracted from poking his nose further into Kaneki’s social life when the waitress showed up to take their orders. Trying not to look surprised when Kaneki ordered a sandwich and coffee, Hide recovered enough to give the waitress a small smile as he ordered his own sandwich.

“I thought you weren’t going to have anything?” Hide hissed as the waitress walked away, reminding Kaneki of his earlier promise.

Kaneki looked unconcerned. “I don’t have to eat it, I just have to order it. It’s perfectly normal for people to take things home from here; Touka does it all the time.”

Hide sighed dramatically at Kaneki’s obvious bid to change to subject, but decided to go with it. He’d have another chance to nag about the food when it came out; right now there was a perfect opportunity to find out more about his new coworkers.

“I thought Touka didn’t, um,” Hide started, noticing the waitress returning with their drinks. “That she didn’t go out to eat often,” he finished lamely, inclining his head in thanks to the waitress as she left the table.

Kaneki lifted his cup and took a sip of coffee before replying, the smirk he was hiding behind his mug clear in his voice. “She doesn’t. But her friend is interested in cooking, so they go out occasionally. This is one of their favorites.”

“I can see why,” Hide said, taking a minute to fully appreciate the shop’s setup. It was more spread out and informal than any restaurant he’d been to before, and the general atmosphere felt much more like a cafe that served food than somewhere food was the main attraction.

“A lot of business people come here because the food is good and fast and they can get it to go,” Kaneki supplied, sipping his coffee. “It gets very busy during lunch hours.”

“Convenient,” Hide replied. “Good choice. So is the coffee as good as the food?”

Kaneki shrugged, holding his coffee close and inhaling the steam. “It’s not bad,” he allowed, which Hide took to mean that the coffee was pretty damn spectacular.

“So what’s Touka going to think of you moving in above a nail salon?” Hide asked, switching the subject back to the day’s adventures.

The snort of laughter from Kaneki was completely unexpected, but not at all unwelcome. “When you put it that way,” he said, amusement still sparkling behind his eyes, “she’s probably going laugh at me. And then accuse me of trying to steal Hinami.”

Hide perked up at the mention of Hinami, who he still hadn’t met. He had a feeling that she was the too-young-to-be-Kaneki’s-girlfriend companion that he’d dug up surveillance footage of when he’d been researching Kaneki. “Are you?” he asked.

That got him a short shake of the head. “Hinami’s gotten pretty settled in with Touka while I’ve been working in the 7th ward, but she’ll have her own room if she wants it.”

He was just about to ask if Kaneki was considering letting both of them move in when the waitress arrived with their food, interrupting Hide’s train of thought with the smell of turkey and freshly melted cheese. After thanking the waitress and assuring her that there was nothing they would need, Hide inspected his sandwich. Satisfied that there was nothing obviously wrong with it, Hide took a bite.

“Oh my god,” he said, speaking around the food. “This is amazing.”

Kaneki gave him a smug look and took another sip of his coffee.

“Seriously though,” Hide continued, “what the hell did they do to this sandwich to make it so good?”

“Touka says it’s American style,” Kaneki said, lifting one shoulder in a half shrug to show he was just as clueless as Hide. “Sandwiches are supposed to be something they’re good at.”

“Apparently they are,” Hide said, taking another large bite out of his sandwich. “And if you think I’m letting you get away with ruining whatever it is you ordered on yourself, you are very very wrong.”

“You should try it before you say that.” Kaneki nudged his plate closer to the center of the table, encouraging Hide to eat the sandwich he had ordered. “But I’ll let you have it if that’s what you want.”

Not bothering to set down his own sandwich, Hide shook his head. “I’ll try it later, I have to fully appreciate this first.”

“Suit yourself,” Kaneki said, his amusement clear in the way his eyes scrunched up over the edge of his coffee mug.

Hide gave an exaggerated moan around the next bite of his sandwich. “Seriously though, this is amazing. Whoever recommended this place has awesome taste. I want to meet them.”

“I’ll pass on your message, but you’ll have to ask Touka about meeting her. She doesn’t work with us and Touka can be a little bit protective.”

“I guess I’ll just have to brave Touka’s wrath then,” Hide said. “If her friend can find places like this, we need to hang out. Kimi and I have known each other for so long that we’ve been to all the same places. I thought that might change when she got a boyfriend who would take her out, but the only thing besides girlfriends Nishio has good taste in is instant coffee.”

“I won’t tell him you said that,” Kaneki said with a suppressed laugh, his shoulders tensing as he tried to keep it in. “But I’ll see if Touka has any more suggestions, if you’d like to go.”

“I would,” Hide said immediately, the implication of what he was saying only hitting him after it was out of his mouth.

Kaneki had asked him on a second date and he’d said yes without thinking. Granted, he would have said yes anyway, but the fact that he hadn’t noticed until after caught him off guard, sending a flash of heat to his cheeks.

“I would, yeah,” Hide said again, softer this time and with the weight of meaning behind it.

Something relaxed around Kaneki’s eyes at his answer. Hide smiled, letting Kaneki see that he meant it before turning back to his sandwich to bask in the moment for a little bit.

It wasn’t until Hide finished his own sandwich and swapped his empty plate for Kaneki’s full one that Kaneki broke the silence.

”So,” he said, clearing his throat and fixing his gaze on what must have been a very interesting piece of molding. “Did you like the apartment? I know it’s a little unconventional, but what did you think?”

“I think it would be a great apartment,” Hide said, recalling his assessment of the living arrangements above the salon. “And it’s got the perfect setup for you, doesn’t it?”

“It does,” Kaneki said, still not meeting Hide’s eyes. “But did you _like_ it?”

Hide frowned, trying to figure out exactly what Kaneki was getting at. The apartment was essentially perfect for housing and running a small underground operation, but Kaneki seemed to want a personal opinion. It wasn’t like Hide could give an objective opinion though, not with his non-existent experience working with other people.

So did Kaneki want a subjective opinion?

“Sure,” Hide said with a shrug. “It’s nice. Private bathrooms are always a plus and the common area is a bit like :Re. And it’s got more than three bedrooms, so I assume you’ll have some space to grow. Or spread out, if that’s what you want.”

Nodding and leaning back a little in his seat, Kaneki’s eyes flashed up to meet Hide’s before settling back down on the table.

Hide couldn’t help it, he wanted to know. “What? What is it?”

Kaneki startled and blushed at being called out, shifting uncomfortably in his seat when he finally answered. “I guess I just. I wondered if you might, uh. Might want to have a room?” he said, his voice getting quieter and quieter until Hide could barely hear him.

Staring blankly at Kaneki, Hide ran the words through his head a few times until he was sure he’d heard them right.

“You don’t have to live in it or anything,” Kaneki continued, filling the silence. “Just if you want to crash, you know you’ll have a place and-”

“I might?” Hide said, the words coming out without any real conscious thought behind them. “Yeah, I mean, I don’t know anyone else you’re living with? And I have my own place in the area, but yeah, I think I’d like that.”

“I’ll introduce you to them,” Kaneki said, scooping up his coffee mug and giving Hide a shy smile before taking a sip to hide his expression. “Hinami and Banjou-san and his friends. Tsukiyama-san won’t be living with us, but I should probably introduce you to him too.”

Kaneki frowned slightly as he said the last name, as though he were trying to think of the best way to introduce Hide to his friends and Hide just couldn’t help it. Kaneki was too cute.

“It might be even better if I got to share your room.”

Hide didn’t really think about what he had said until Kaneki jerked in surprise, slowly setting his coffee mug back on the table. It was too late to take it back now though, and it wasn’t like he hadn’t meant it.

“Really? You mean that?”

Now Hide was the one blushing and trying not to second guess himself. “Yeah, really.”

“Okay,” Kaneki said, a genuine smile taking over his face. This time he didn’t reach for his coffee to cover it up.

“Okay,” Hide repeated, feeling himself smiling in return because _this was going to work_. He and Kaneki were going to be together on and off the job and it was going to work.

He’d also get to meet Kaneki’s coworkers, the people who had helped him secure the 7th ward. Hide wasn’t sure whether or not he was scared by the prospect of meeting so many people who were important to Kaneki all at once, but if he was it was the good kind of scared. The kind of scared that gave him an adrenaline high like he was breaking into a secure building or stealing state secrets.

It was definitely a good feeling.

“Would you gentlemen like a box to take your sandwich with you?” the waitress asked, startling Hide back into reality.

“Um,” he said, floundering for a moment as he got his bearings. “Yes please.”

She nodded and left to get a box. Hide glared at Kaneki, trying to communicate with his eyes that Kaneki should have given him some warning. Instead of looking properly remorseful, Kaneki’s eyes crinkled over the rim of his mug like he was laughing.

“Laugh it up, I’ll get you back,” Hide muttered as he piled the remains of Kaneki’s sandwich into the box.

“I’m sure you will,” Kaneki agreed, looking over the check before taking out enough money to cover it and leaving it on the table. “You ready to go?”

“Ready when you are,” Hide said, rising for his seat at the table. “Where to next?”

“I should probably stop by :Re,” Kaneki said, leading the way out the door. “Let them know that I found a place.”

“Sounds good. I’ll come too. See if I can’t meet any of my new employers.”

“Not the most traditional employers,” Kaneki said, grin clear in his voice.

“What are you talking about, it’s a _coffee shop_. It doesn’t get much more stereotypical than that.”

Kaneki gave a snort and looked down at the sidewalk, his shoulders shaking with repressed laughter. Hide grinned at him, and Kaneki grinned back, his expression becoming more and more open as he held Hide’s gaze. Finally he cracked open, letting out a full bellied laugh. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. A real coffee shop romance, that’s us.”

Hide couldn’t help the giggle that bubbled up at that mental image and he didn’t try to stop it, instead pulling Kaneki to lean up against the side of the building with him as they doubled over with laughter.

“I was thinking we should do a bookstore date, but hey, if you think coffee shops are our thing, far be it from me to stop you,” Hide said at last, gasping for breath between bouts of laughter.

“I’ve had some bad experiences with bookstore dates, so it’s probably good that that’s not our thing,” Kaneki said, smile still on his face even after he got his laughter under control.

“Okay,” Hide agreed easily. “I’ll keep that in mind. We’re heading to :Re next?”

“We are,” Kaneki confirmed, giving Hide another second to catch his breath before pushing off of the brick wall.

Hide caught up to him easily, weaving through the crowd until they were walking side by side. Slipping his hand into Kaneki’s, Hide interlaced their fingers and gave a quick squeeze. Kaneki squeezed back, keeping his eyes focused on the crowd around them rather than looking over at Hide.

Yeah, Hide thought, catching Kaneki’s lips curling into a smile out of the corner of his eye. They were going to work out fine.

 


End file.
